Products and Services (2010 site)

This page is preserved from the earlier static Right Blend Investing site that ran at this address before the firm moved to its WordPress build.

Core Products

Right Blend Investing provides a variety of products and services that can help you achieve financial freedom. Our core products and

services are:

• Asset management: Customized portfolios are the foundation.

• Financial planning: A good plan provides the blueprint and the motivation.

• Socially Responsible Investing: We help clients “invest in their beliefs.”

Asset Management

Sound asset management is the foundation of your financial freedom. Right Blend believes that creating the "right blend" of assets is an ongoing process for each client, and is part of an enduring relationship. This relationship benefits from our extensive experience, uncompromising integrity, and commitment to exceptional service.

After an initial assessment of your goals, Right Blend considers how your personal situation fits into a broader market context. At every stage in life, we evaluate how your finances may be impacted by the economic cycle, long-term investment trends, new financial solutions, and the current outlook for global capital markets.

The result is a customized asset allocation blend for each client, and a customized blend of products and services. Right Blend continually adjusts the asset mix as your needs evolve over time, and as the capital market itself changes. This fluid approach to asset allocation reflects Post-Modern Portfolio Theory (PMPT), which assumes that the historic volatility of returns is just one aspect of investment risk. This means that a "conservative" or "aggressive" risk profile is just one step in the asset allocation process, which requires comprehensive reviews by a trusted advisor for optimal results.

Our focus at Right Blend Investing is on asset management, so we work with a variety of brokerage firms to handle back office activities. Your assets will be held in custody at the firm of your choice, so you will have all of their tools and services.

Financial Planning

We take a holistic approach to financial planning, looking at your income, assets, liabilities, tax situation, time-horizon, and risk tolerance. This provides a financial picture. We also discuss your career, your family, and your outside business activities. This provides a personal picture. Our integrated approach improves the likelihood that you will achieve your goals, whether this includes retirement planning, educational financing, or trust and estate planning.

Unlike most firms, Right Blend Investing emphasizes using your goals as a motivational tool. Financial plans can feel like a burden, since they focus on budgeting, discipline, and denial. We shift the focus to your aspirations, so that your vision of the future fuels your progress. Saving and investing is a positive choice, and one you should feel good about. This is especially true when we help you “invest in your beliefs.”

Socially Responsible Investing: “Invest in Your Beliefs”

Socially Responsible Investing is for investors who wish to balance their desire for investment returns with a positive social impact. For example, clients may wish to invest in companies that have a strong record for diversity, or which have a commitment to environmental sustainability.

For clients interested in socially responsible investing, Right Blend Investing offers a number of solutions, including a "core and satellite" approach. This approach begins with a diversified "core" portfolio that has a suitable asset allocation for your overall investment objectives. Next, we discuss your personal values and social priorities. With this as our guide, we can then construct a concentrated "satellite" portfolio. Positions in the satellite portfolio are selected for maximum social impact, and reflect your preferences and priorities.

Social Responsibility is one way that Right Blend Investing helps its clients "invest in their beliefs."

Our Business Model

Right Blend Investing offers objective investment advice that is customized for each client. This drives all of the products and services we offer, and it is built into our business model.

First, we offer objectivity. All fund managers claim to be objective, but this claim needs to be supported by the firm’s business model. For example, a firm that is paid by commission will tend to trade actively, whether or not this is in the client’s best interest.

The compensation at Right Blend Investing is designed to minimize conflicts of interest and maximize the value we offer each client. We are paid by our clients in different ways, as discussed below. But all of these methods are designed to provide objective advice for the benefit of our clients. Compensation affects all types of financial advice, especially investment management. So we believe it is critical to discuss not only the level of compensation, but also the structure of compensation.

Second, we offer customization. Our business model allows us to serve individual clients with the compensation structure that makes the most sense for them. Clients choose how to pay, depending on what services they need. Some clients will choose to pay a percentage of assets under management; other clients will choose a package of services at a fixed price; and others will choose consultations at hourly rates. Right Blend Investing allows the client to choose any of these compensation structures, alone or in combination, at a rate that is in line our peers in the industry.

By allowing our clients to choose the compensation structure that fits their needs, Right Blend Investing can offer both objectivity and customization.

Other Services

• Charitable Giving

Right Blend Investing can help you explore financial planning strategies for your charitable giving, and help you evaluate the best way to achieve your philanthropic goals. We specialize in combining charitable giving with social responsible investing. We can help you become a more effective philanthropist.

• Customized Research Projects

We conduct proprietary investment research on request. Please contact us for our rates, minimums, and required lead time for projects.

• Gift Cards

You can give peace of mind to someone you love: Give them the gift of pre-paid financial services. We offer gift cards for a variety of occasions, such as weddings, graduations, birthdays, and retirements. Gift card recipients get our services, not a sales pitch. Our packages include Pre-Marital Financial Counseling, Transitional Planning for College Students, Budget Workshop, Retirement Review, and Investing 101. Prices vary based on the package you choose, so please contact us for details.

• Financial Counseling

Counseling can be a sensitive issue, especially when it involves money and relationships. We focus on counseling for couples, adult children in transition, and families dealing with health challenges.